SBI To Divest Up To 10 pct Stake In Its Life Insurance Venture

NEW DELHI: State Bank of India (SBI) said it plans to divest up to 10 percent stake in its life insurance arm SBI Life.

"The executive committee of the central board has authorized divestment of SBI's stake in SBI Life Insurance by up to 10 percernt," SBI said in a statement.

SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif of France. At present, SBI owns 74 percent of the total capital and BNP Paribas Cardif has the remaining 26 percent in the joint venture.

SBI Life Insurance has an authorized capital of Rs 2,000 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs 1,000 crore, according to its website.

Earlier this month, Parliament had passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which seeks to increase foreign investment in private sector companies to 49 percent from the existing 26 percent, among other things.

Last week, SBI had announced that Insurance Australia Group (IAG) would increase its stake in their general insurance joint venture SBI General from 26 percent to 49 percent.

SBI General, a 74:26 joint venture between SBI and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) of Australia, began operations in 2010.